Even Through Death
by highfunctioningsocio
Summary: Rumpelstiltskin deals with his son's death, and everything that happened with Zelena. Rumbelle! Set after S3 finale, but does not include Frozen.


**Hey guys welcome to my fan fiction! I do not own Once Upon a Time or the characters. Enjoy, and please review! :)**

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><p>Rumpelstiltskin sighed as he sifted through a box of junk in the back of his pawn shop. He really wished the town folk would come claim their stupid stuff. Thanks to the latest curse courtesy of Peter Pan his shop had accumulated more junk. Belle had gone through a good bit of it, but there was still a horde of boxes littering the shop. His sign out front "If you lost something it is probably here. Come and claim it," wasn't as effective as he had hoped. One man came in and asked him, "Hey have you seen my car keys. I lost them this morning are they here?" Rumple had just stared at him a really long time silently cursing the incredibly stupid people of Storybrooke. After an awkward minute of silence the man had left, and hadn't bothered Rumple again.<p>

Now as he stood in the back of his shop he heard the chime of his little bell. Must be Belle. She's early it isn't even lunch yet, Rumple thought. He walked out into the front of the shop, and was met with disappointment and dread. It was Mary-Margaret, and her newborn son Neal. Ever since the events with Zelena had ended Rumple had avoided practically everyone in the town. He mostly only ever talked to Belle. But if he had to converse with other people he used as little words as possible, and ditched them at his first chance. Or kicked them out of his shop. As he stared at Mary-Margaret he didn't say anything. He didn't greet her or say something sarcastic like he usually would. He waited for her to speak first. She fidgeted under his stare for a moment then spoke, "Gold, I came to apologize." His eyes widened. Why in the world is she apologizing to me? "I'm sorry we didn't ask you if we could name our son Neal. We wanted to keep to tradition so it would be a surprise for everyone. I hope we didn't upset you."

"Uhhh," he coughed and cleared his throat, "No um no its... its fine. I'm honored you named him after Bae."

She smiled widely and bent down to take Neal out of his baby carrier. While speaking softly to him she picked him up, and offered him to Rumple, "Would you like to hold him?"

He paled a little bit, and backed away until he had his back against the wall. "No no... no thanks. Maybe some other time."

She looked concerned as she studied him. "Are you okay? You can hold him. He isn't going to break."

"I'm fine. Is there anything else you want?"

"No that's all."

"Then get out," he realized that sounded quite rude and quickly added, "Please."

She still didn't looked very convinced that he was entirely fine, which he wasn't, but she nodded. She carefully put Neal back in his carrier, and walked out the door. When the door swung shut, and he was finally alone Rumple slid down the wall and pulled his knees to his chest. He rested his forehead on his knees, and closed his eyes. A sob escaped him, "Oh Bae..."

Mary-Margaret watched him from the window. She knew something was wrong so she had decided to hang around, and see what was up. She touched her hand to her heart as she watched him slide to the floor. She could tell he was crying from the way his shoulders shook, but she decided against going back in to comfort him. He probably wouldn't appreciate it. She turned away, and started walking back down the street when the clocktower caught her eye. "Belle!" she said aloud. Belle would know what was wrong, and she could comfort him. She crossed the street to the library, and grabbed the door to swing it open.

Belle smiled as she read the blurb on the back of the book she was holding. It sounded like a really good book. One she had never read before so she was excited to dig into it. She sat down in her favorite chair. Rumple had bought it for her. It was really comfy with a big frame that was great for curling up and cuddling on. She was about to start reading when the door to the library swung open, and Mary-Margaret walked in. She had baby Neal with her, and Belle grinned at the two of them. "Hi, Mary-Margaret! Hi, Neal," she said as she walked over to them.

"Hi, Belle, listen I just came from Gold's shop and-" she stopped mid sentence as she stared astonished at the ring on Belle's hand. She grabbed her hand to study it then slowly looked up at her, "Belle, is this a wedding ring?"

Belle could barely control her excitement as she nodded eagerly, "Yes! Two days ago after you announced your baby's name me and Rumple got married."

"That very night?" she gasped.

"Yes! Oh and please don't feel bad that you weren't invited. Only my dad was there to see us get married. Archie performed the ceremony. Oh, Mary-Margaret it was so perfect! It was the happiest moment of my entire life."

"Oh, Belle, I'm so happy for you! I mean, Mrs. Gold," she giggled like a schoolgirl, "Don't feel bad at all for not inviting anyone to the wedding besides your dad. I cannot be happier for you."

"Thank you! We got back from our honeymoon this morning."

"Oooh your honeymoon. Where did you two love birds go?"

"Rumple knows about this secluded mansion out in the woods. It's abandoned and no one has claimed it. So we thought what's the harm in borrowing it for our honeymoon? It was gorgeous out there and peaceful. There was a ballroom in it! Oh we had our first dance in there. It was so romantic and perfect. Rumple is thinking about buying it! We might get to live in the very same house we spent our honeymoon."

"Belle, that is so amazing! I hope he buys it. You two can have your very own castle out there in the woods."

"I don't think it will take much prompting to get him to buy it. I wouldn't be surprised if when I see him for lunch he tells me he's going to buy it."

"Oh, Belle," she squeezed her hand. It was so perfect that Belle and Rumple were getting their happy ending. Oh wait Rumple! she thought. "Belle, I almost forgot, but there is a reason I came over here."

"Why did you come to see me?" she asked as she tickled Neal.

"I was just at your husband's shop to ask him if he was okay with us naming our son Neal. He said it was fine, but when I asked if he wanted to hold Neal he got really nervous. He kicked me out of the shop, but I looked in through the front window to see if he was okay. He was crying on the floor so I came over here so you could see what was wrong. I don't think he'd appreciate my comfort."

Immediately, Belle's face fell. She looked really sad as she gathered up her purse, "Thanks for telling me. I'll go see him right now."

"Your welcome. Um, Belle, is he okay? Has he been acting up like this lately?"

She gave her a small smile, and nodded, "I'll tell you about it over a cup of tea some time. See you later." Belle walked out the door leaving Mary-Margaret staring after her.


End file.
